Trump seeks a miracle in Dallas and promises a 5,000 dollar check if the Republicans win the midterms

WashingtonDonald Trump has wanted to return to the 2024 election campaign, but time, as the poet said, takes its toll. Lee Greenwood singing God bless the USA. The attacks on former president Joe Biden. Even the same slogans. The US president's speech early this Thursday at the American Airlines Center in Dallas was a succession of echoes of that convention in Milwaukee, where he was consecrated as a mystical figure after surviving the attack in which a bullet grazed his ear. At a historic peak of unpopularity, Trump has entrusted himself to that blind faith that catapulted him to power two years ago and has tied his fate to that of the Republican candidates who are fighting for their seats this November.

"I ask you to pretend that I am on the ballot when you vote," said the president in a stadium that, far from being packed as it was two years ago, was dotted with empty seats. The statement has surely fallen like a slab on the heads of many congressmen who, during the two days the convention is being held, have already sought other errands to avoid catching the unpopularity of their leader. At $25,000 a ticket, the loyalty test proved extreme even for a lawmaker's salary. Especially after more than half a year of war in Iran. A military campaign that the president has defended again –"We had no choice," he said– and which he joked about by claiming he will rename the Strait of Hormuz as "the Trump Strait".

But in case mysticism does not work the miracle, Trump also has a more earthly incentive to finish convincing the undecided: $5,000. Looking into the eyes of citizens who lose purchasing power every day, the president has assured that he will send $5,000 to every citizen if the Republicans maintain control of both chambers of Congress. "So, if the Republicans win, you win with us... It will be called the Trump dividend," the president stated. The leader has gone from promising abundance and prosperity in 2024 to now offering an economic patch. Where he will obtain the more than 1.35 trillion dollars it is estimated to cost, or how he will be able to implement it, is unknown.

The announcement is also a sad echo of a tactic that Trump probably took note of in 2024. Billionaire Elon Musk, then turned into the main champion of Trumpism, raffled off one million dollars among registered voters to mobilize the conservative electorate.

Trump, in a dilemma similar to Harris's

Perhaps without being fully aware of it, Trump has found himself repeating the same campaign slogans that both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris wielded against him. Back then, when the Democrats were in power and seeking reelection, the motto was "If you don't vote for us, Trump will come." Now, the Republican is singing the same tune from the other side of the ring and points to the supposed "communist" threat: "If we lose, you will lose the border, you will lose the tax cuts, you will lose your security and protection, you will lose your wealth." The American president no longer promises the "golden age" of the USA. He has not even made mention of this idea, with which he took office in 2025 and with which he had promoted his candidacy in 2024.

One of Harris's big problems in 2024 was the inability to promise voters real change. The vice president had the challenge of demonstrating that, despite being in power, her presidency could make a difference from the Biden administration. Now Trump has wanted to put himself in the same dilemma, when he had no need to do so in a midterm election and when, in fact, some congressmen had hoped he wouldn't.

In 2024, Americans were unhappy with Biden because they did not feel the country's good macroeconomic data at home, and they decided to trust Trump's promise that he would lower the cost of living. The Republican is governing, but gasoline and food are rising. A gallon of gasoline (about 3.7 liters) now exceeds $4.22 on average, and a pound of ground beef (about 453 grams) already costs about $6.98. Last October, it had already risen to $6.23. The solution the tycoon offers to this problem is to appropriate part of the Venezuelan oil reserves that are still to be exploited and to import tons of foreign meat exempt from tariffs. A decision that has further punished his rural base, already choked by the trade war and ICE raids in the countryside.

Texas, a border and rural state par excellence, became a Republican bastion in 2024. In part, this was the reason why, months ago, the leader decided to hold this "historic" convention in Dallas and demonstrate his strength. But the script that the Republican already had written is not what is happening. Two months before the elections, a young Presbyterian pastor has managed to compete in the race for the Senate. The Democrat James Talarico has become a real threat to the Republican candidate, Ken Paxton, who only convinces the president. In a state where Trump has managed to make Texan and Democrat almost an oxymoron, the young chaplain has called this premise into question. That is why Trump has returned to defend his bet on Paxton tonight: "We must get him elected; if necessary, I will return to Texas one, two, three times... as many as it takes!".

Trump wants to believe that he retains the charisma that returned him to the White House in 2024. This morning he demonstrated that if necessary, he can put 5,000 dollars on the table of American households. Just in case it turns out that time has indeed taken its toll.